diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4631907118..dac6b5062a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ __testerror.txt
 __testfinish.txt
 __testfailure.bmp
 __testcompare.png
+vt_ref.bmp
 GameLogNotes.txt
 screenshots
 android/assets/lang
diff --git a/Core/EmuThread.cpp b/Core/EmuThread.cpp
index 4f1b9de872..95c861613f 100644
--- a/Core/EmuThread.cpp
+++ b/Core/EmuThread.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ enum class EmuThreadState {
 static std::thread emuThread;
 static std::atomic<EmuThreadState> g_emuThreadState(EmuThreadState::DISABLED);
 
-static std::thread mainThread;
 static std::string g_error_message;
 static bool g_inLoop;
 
@@ -52,23 +51,7 @@ static GraphicsContext *g_graphicsContext;
 
 void MainThreadFunc();
 
-void MainThread_Start() {
-	mainThread = std::thread([]() {
-		MainThreadFunc();
-	});
-}
-
-void MainThread_Stop() {
-	// Already stopped?
-	UpdateUIState(UISTATE_EXIT);
-	_dbg_assert_(mainThread.joinable());
-	mainThread.join();
-}
-
 bool MainThread_Ready() {
-	if (g_inLoop) {
-		_dbg_assert_(mainThread.joinable());
-	}
 	return g_inLoop;
 }
 
@@ -152,8 +135,6 @@ void MainThreadFunc() {
 
 	SetCurrentThreadName(useEmuThread ? "RenderThread" : "EmuThread");
 
-	System_SetWindowTitle("");
-
 	const bool performingRestart = NativeIsRestarting();
 
 	if (g_Config.sFailedGPUBackends.find("ALL") != std::string::npos) {
diff --git a/Core/EmuThread.h b/Core/EmuThread.h
index 80b99ca297..71ccf03690 100644
--- a/Core/EmuThread.h
+++ b/Core/EmuThread.h
@@ -20,6 +20,6 @@
 // Utilities to manage Emu and Render threads.
 // TODO: Use across platforms, currently Windows-only.
 
-void MainThread_Start();
-void MainThread_Stop();
 bool MainThread_Ready();
+
+void MainThreadFunc();
diff --git a/Windows/MainWindow.cpp b/Windows/MainWindow.cpp
index a687957acf..013494d1c9 100644
--- a/Windows/MainWindow.cpp
+++ b/Windows/MainWindow.cpp
@@ -1070,7 +1070,7 @@ namespace MainWindow {
 			g_InputManager.Shutdown();
 			WindowsRawInput::Shutdown();
 
-			MainThread_Stop();
+			UpdateUIState(UISTATE_EXIT);
 			KillTimer(hWnd, TIMER_CURSORUPDATE);
 			KillTimer(hWnd, TIMER_CURSORMOVEUPDATE);
 			// Main window is gone, this tells the message loop to exit.
diff --git a/Windows/main.cpp b/Windows/main.cpp
index e65ad214ec..0941a1f8d4 100644
--- a/Windows/main.cpp
+++ b/Windows/main.cpp
@@ -1146,11 +1146,18 @@ int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE _hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR szCmdLin
 		MainWindow::Minimize();
 	}
 
-	// Emu thread (and render thread, if any) is always running!
+	// Emu thread is always running!
 	// OpenGL uses an externally managed render thread (due to GL's single-threaded context design).
 	// Vulkan manages its own render thread. Our D3D backend doesn't have a render thread.
 	// The Emu thread calls NativeInit() and NativeMain() etc.
-	MainThread_Start();
+
+	System_SetWindowTitle("");
+
+	std::thread mainThread = std::thread([]() {
+		MainThreadFunc();
+	});
+
+	// This thread can become the render thread or the emu thread depending on the backend.
 
 	g_InputManager.BeginPolling();
 
@@ -1190,15 +1197,18 @@ int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE _hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR szCmdLin
 
 		if (!wnd || !accel || !TranslateAccelerator(wnd, accel, &msg)) {
 			if (!DialogManager::IsDialogMessage(&msg)) {
-				//and finally translate and dispatch
+				// and finally translate and dispatch
 				TranslateMessage(&msg);
 				DispatchMessage(&msg);
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	// When we've exited the loop, MainThread_Stop has already been called.
-	// So it's safe to call NativeShutdown.
+	// Already stopped?
+	_dbg_assert_(mainThread.joinable());
+	mainThread.join();
+
+	// It's safe to call NativeShutdown, we've joined the main thread.
 	NativeShutdown();
 
 	g_VFS.Clear();